Fossil Fuel Industry Asks for Bailout Amid Pandemic

Mar 24, 2020

March 24, 2020 (BOSTON, MA) – Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) released the following statement today as fossil fuel producers step up calls for bailouts and relaxed regulations as part of COVID-19 relief legislation.

“Congress must prioritize people over polluters,” said Bradley Campbell, President of Conservation Law Foundation. “The very communities that continue to suffer disproportionately high rates of disease at the hands of big oil are now directly affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Any relief legislation must be focused on helping these families and not bailing out big oil and gas.”

Last week, the Trump administration proposed spending $20 billion in taxpayer dollars to purchase millions of barrels of oil and prop up fossil fuel producers. Legislators are also considering a variety of proposals for COVID-19 relief legislation, and oil and gas industry lobbyists are pushing for relaxed rules and waived pollution controls.